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Dream Big ~ Dream Interesting!

December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Dream BIG ~ Dream INTERESTING!

A few weeks back, I planted an avocado seed in a pot. I’ve thrown a lot of avocado seeds away in my day, but I guess they deserve a chance for a new beginning too, eh?

I watered it dutifully and waited. Nothing happened for about ten days, maybe even two weeks.

Then the day came where something other than dirt greeted the watering can; a little tiny stick of a thing popping up out of nowhere! The following day, I swear that little nub doubled in size! A week later, I’m looking at a scraggly foot-tall stick with the beginnings of what looks like leaves on the top.

So, now what?  This is my first venture into avocado propagation – do I trust trial and error or do some research? A quick Google leads me several articles and I discover what to do when the shoot is six or seven inches tall.  I need to cut it down 50%. Oh no! I’m too late by three inches! But having nothing to lose, I’m going to follow the directions. The article says that it should sprout out again and then I’m directed to plant it outside where it could be as big as sixty-nine feet! Or, if it stays in the pot, it could be an interesting house plant.

This whole ordeal really parallels to life. I have choices- YOU have choices! – To be as big as we can be, or maybe not so big, but interesting.  Maybe both!

I’ve really made some dramatic changes in my life over the last five years, and even more this past year. What do I want to do in 2011? Dream big? Dream interesting?

What will I do with that dream? If I take no action, that dream will just stay an old avocado seed and that’s that.

I haven’t picked the date yet, but I’m going to call a bunch of my girlfriends to see if they want to get together to create vision boards for 2011. We’ll get all messy – glue sticks, magazines, cardboard, and let our seeds of a dream take root, sprout and become something.

 Maybe something big.

Maybe something interesting.

Maybe both.

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Spiritual Tip of the Day – Reframe it!

June 29, 2010 By 2 Comments

“Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.” Dr. Maxwell Maltz

Reframing is a technique commonly used in coaching, where people discover that by changing their perspective, problems become opportunities!

A few years ago, I was invited to speak at a local church, for a kick off program called Lead Like Jesus, based on the book of the same name, by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. It changed how I looked at my life and my coaching practice, which shifted toward helping people to see the spirituality in life. I found that any goal becomes more exciting and attainable, when viewed in a spiritual light.

Prior to that, I went on a scuba diving trip in the Florida Keys. There was an interesting coral formation very near to where we descended from the boat, but seemingly void of any fish. Instead of scurrying away to find the most colorful fish, I felt drawn to patiently wait and watch. Soon I was aware that something was also watching me! It was the biggest Jewfish I had ever seen, nestled quietly underneath the formation, resembling Elmer Fudd with his pouting lower lip! We both watched each other intently for a period of time – it was indeed a spiritual experience.

By reframing life to stay present in the moment, there is a reward. In the case of scuba diving, I reframed how I approached that dive, looking for what was right in front of me, rather than what may be up ahead. I’ve done the same thing with my weaknesses, embracing and reframing them to be strengths. It is in my imperfections that people are able to relate to me! I saw perfection for what it really is – unattainable! As stated in previous blogs, I seek excellence today, which is possible, where perfection just is not.

In 1993, I reframed dieting, which never really worked very well – each diet ultimately resulted in a weight gain! Sure, initially I’d lose weight, but as soon as the diet was over, I’d return to my old eating habits, gain back what I lost and a few more pounds for good measure. That has to be insanity, to repeat something that was unsuccessful, over and over, hoping that this time it will be different. My thinking shifted to a spiritual approach to eating. I not only lost over 100 lbs, but also, for the first time in my life, did not return to my old eating habits that had doomed me to a life of morbid obesity. In actuality, I had reframed my outlook on eating many years before I even know what reframing was! If you want to read more about this, you can order my book, Trust God and Buy Broccoli, A Spiritual Approach to Weight Loss.

Perhaps there is something you want to change in your life. Maybe it’s time to reframe it! Please let us know how that worked for you!

Here are a few websites on reframing that you might enjoy, along with the book, Lead Like Jesus.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCT_05.htm – reframing tools for business

http://www.vivocoaching.com/blog/tag/reframing-perspective/ – Life is a journey

http://www.amazon.com/Lead-Like-Jesus-Greatest-Leadership/dp/0849900409 – by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges

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Spiritual Tip of the Day – It’s Okay to be Imperfect!

June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Who's perfect?

Who's perfect?

“The synonym for perfect is boring.”

Maureen Traynor

As a young teen, I swam competitively. I was pretty good too! Rarely did I come in first; there were two girls in my swimming league who were much better than me, so often I finished second or third. “You could have beaten her, if you only tried harder.” The words of my father echoed in my head.

Loser

Good for nothing

Second doesn’t count

 

I also heard, “You’re nothing but a jack of all trades, but a master at none; you’ll never amount to anything.” It was partially true – I was pretty good at a lot of things but not the best at any one thing, but  that took me pretty far in my life. My ability to multi-task and delegate aided me in my career as a community association manager – perhaps not the best, but my ‘graffiti’ knowledge took me far!

In my forties, I met Maureen Traynor, A mental health counselor in Winter Park, FL. She told me that no one is perfect. There was certain freedom in that for me! I tried many new things as a result – scuba diving, water colors, and changing careers at age 57! Do you know that my first book had eleven errors in the first printing? That was after several friends and a professional editor cleaned it up!

In the Spirituality of Imperfection, by Ernest Kurtz, Katherine Ketcham, I learned that it is in my imperfections that people can relate to me. Actually, this has become a cornerstone of my spiritual coaching practice; to help clients to see that stumbling is all part of climbing the mountain it’s still important to put a good effort into the job, but today I seek to achieve excellence, rather than perfection!

Here are some things I’ve done to move away from perfectionism and toward striving for excellence!

  • Let go of expectations – they’re premeditated resentments anyway! When I expect a certain result, especially if it is unattainable, it’s a set up for disappointment.
  • Create an action plan to achieve goals. If the plan doesn’t work – revise it! There is always more than one way to accomplish things.
  • Celebrate the ‘wins’. Along the way to the big prize, there is a plethora of victories. Savor each one!
  • Learn from the challenges – note I did not say failures. Each stumbling block along my way has helped me to discover the spirituality in my imperfections.

Might you be a perfectionist? Take this online test to see how you measure!

http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/perfectionism_abridged_access.html

“Once you accept the fact that you’re not perfect, then you develop some confidence.” Rosalynn Carter

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